yeah, this thing is AWESOME! I slightly selfishly wanted to wait until the auction is over to post this, but the guy that makes these has others in the works and I wanted to give electro-music folks a heads-up on these. Here's pics:

I'm amazed that the low price I got it for, this thing is gonna be the centerpiece of my modular! Any thoughts on these oscillators? Metasonix is getting great reviews for their tube synth, but I sure can't afford one of those.

It is certainly odd. The demo reminded me of a flock of seagulls circling a fire engine.

It actually looks like a set of neon lamp oscillators, which is a bit thinner than the thyratrons that Eric uses. Also I didn't see where there is any patching to external modulators, it seems like it's self contained.

Very Steampunk design, though._________________Garret: It's so retro.
EGM: What does retro mean to you?
Parker: Like, old and outdated.Home,My Studio,and another view

Neon oscillators and dividers were commonly used in old organs right thru to the 60s. Neons were also used in vintage analogue computers, for clocks, AND gates and OR gates, flipflops and ring counters.

A standalone neon oscillator usually has a cap running to ground. when using more than one neon bulb, the caps can be connected between them. That is what this device is doing, though the caps can be switched in and out of the circuit. In this setup, with caps connected between bulbs, only one bulb can be lit at a time, and it is difficult to predict which bulb will be lit next, and you can set up 'groups' of oscillators to interact whilst ignoring the actions of other 'groups' it means a huge variety of patterns are achievable depending on your switch settings and clock rates....huge meaning virtually infinite. I am happy to see someone appreciating the qualities of neon bulbs, they are deceptively simple but the more you use them the more interesting they get.

A circuit i am currently developing uses just three neons, depending on the settings of the pots the firing order changes in different patterns - 12323123231
12123121212321
I have it set up to operate as a chaotic envelope generator, operating frequency is between 0.2-0.5Hz. So I am trying to get a control voltage out of it rather than an audio signal.

This is where neon oscillators are really interesting - they can produce chaos, that strange nether region between order and random
L.Chua, developer of Chua's circuit, wrote a paper on the chaotic properties of neon bulbs, worth a look if you can access engineering databases.

I got the Octillator yesterday and I am blown away! This thing is great: solidly built w. great craftsmanship, I had seen the pictures but the instrument itself is gorgeous. It's function/controllability is outstandingly nuanced, with the tubes contributing just the right amount of variability/randomness. One becomes aware of the signal/voltage path via the glowing tubes and playing the Octillator quickly becomes very intuitive. Watching the tubes allows one an amazing amount of fine-control for the sort of vacillating[oscillating?]-between-two-semi-stable-states this thing is great for. Rhythmic elements can be bounced around, changed, tuned, etc. to an amazing degree of versatility.
But what about the sound? The youtube video did NOT do this thing justice! The tube oscillation sounds great; it has a moderate,rippling sort of distortion.
...I was concerned somewhat that the Octillator would be a sort of "one-note pony", or just good for drones or choppy stuff. Really I must stress the versatility and endless possibilities with this instrument,*alone* or as part of a modular system or effects. Funny things happen, some you expect, some you definitely don't..It lends itself much better to performance than one would think. I expect to gain further control as I perform with it. I couldn't be happier with the communication w. the seller, expediency of shipping, packing job, or the instrument. Great ebayer, amazing inventor. I'll make a track soon and post a link.

well, you sound rather chuffed. You should at least do an mp3 post here when you come up for air._________________Garret: It's so retro.
EGM: What does retro mean to you?
Parker: Like, old and outdated.Home,My Studio,and another view

Don't be sorry, it's nice to see another person so excited about something. There've been a few here lately that have made me smile.

But I'd love to hear something better than seagulls and fire sirens. _________________Garret: It's so retro.
EGM: What does retro mean to you?
Parker: Like, old and outdated.Home,My Studio,and another view

Just add it as an attachment to your post. Look down at the Options below your posting window, click Add an Attachment, browse to your mp3 and add it._________________Garret: It's so retro.
EGM: What does retro mean to you?
Parker: Like, old and outdated.Home,My Studio,and another view

I got it off ebay.. it's strange, that's for certain. I'm enjoying it.
The guy said people are showing some interest (though the auctions didn't net him much), and that he's going to make several. the one I got was a sort of prototype, he said.

here's a track of some octillator fiddlings thru some effects. Comments are more than welcome, positive or negative. This thing is fun and offers a lot of frequencies to selectively filter/emphasize. Thanks y'all.

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